May 19, 2025
National Athlete of the Week is an award selected and presented by the USTFCCCA Communications Staff at the beginning of each week to multiple collegiate Track and Field athletes, when applicable (male and female for each of the three NCAA divisions, the National Junior College divisions, and the NAIA).
Nominations are open to the public. Coaches and sports information directors are encouraged to nominate their student-athletes; as are student-athletes, their families and friends, and fans of their programs. Nominated athletes are noticed before those athletes found through searching TFRRS.
The award seeks to highlight not only the very best times, marks and scores on a week-to-week basis, but also performances that were significant on the national landscape and/or the latest in a series of strong outings. Quality of competition, suspenseful finishes and other factors will also play a role in the decision.
NCAA DIVISION I MEN – Parker Wolfe, North Carolina
Senior | Distance | Denver, Colorado
Parker Wolfe was on the prowl for ACC titles.
One wasn’t enough for the second, but two sated him.
Wolfe completed the distance double at the ACC Outdoor Track & Field Championships for the second year in a row, winning both the 5000 meters and 10,000 meters. He rolled to the 5000-meter crown as he gapped the field by nearly 24 seconds and set an ACC and meet record with his 13:13.49 PR clocking that also made him the 11th fastest performer in collegiate history. That was two days after Wolfe won the 10,000-meter final in PR 28:51.09, narrowly missing the meet record of 28:48.69 established by Ahmed Muhumed three years ago.
This is the first time that Wolfe has been named M-F Athletic National Athlete of the Week during the outdoor season. Wolfe is the second athlete in program history to earn national weekly honors, joining fellow distance sensation Ethan Strand in that regard.
co-NCAA DIVISION I WOMEN – JaMeesia Ford, South Carolina
Sophomore | Sprints | Fayetteville, North Carolina
The SEC Outdoor Track & Field Championships have been the site of historic performances over the years. What JaMeesia Ford did this past weekend was unprecedented, though.
Ford captured four event titles in Lexington, Kentucky: two in individual events with the 100 and 200 meters; and two in relay events with the 4×100 and 4×400 relays. Several athletes had won three of those in some combination, but never all four – that is until Ford did so in one day.
Wait. Read that again. Ford did all of that in one day – better yet, within four hours.
Ford started her historic day off by anchoring South Carolina’s 4×100 relay to victory and then returned soon after to win the 100 by the slimmest of margins. Milliseconds decided the winner between Ford and Tina Godbless of LSU, as they both clocked identical 11.055 marks. Then, Ford set a meet record and moved up to No. 5 all-time in collegiate history with her 22.01 PR in the 200 meters. Finally, Ford took the baton third on the Gamecocks’ 4×400 relay, split 49.56 to stake them to a 2.49-second lead, all of which was needed as Aaliyah Butler nearly willed her Georgia squad to victory with a 48.86 split, one of the fastest in collegiate history.
This is the second year in a row that Ford has been named M-F Athletic National Athlete of the Week during the outdoor season. Ford previously earned national weekly honors on April 2, 2024. South Carolina has now seen female athletes lauded four times in total.
co-NCAA DIVISION I WOMEN – Amanda Moll, Washington
Sophomore | Pole Vault | Olympia, Washington
Going up? Amanda Moll sure is.
Moll increased her own collegiate record in the pole vault to 4.78m (15-8¼) in winning the event title at the Big Ten Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Eugene, Oregon. Just a few weeks earlier, Moll topped 4.76m (15-7¼) to better Brynn King’s five-week-old CR by 1 cm (¼ inch).
That record-breaking jump almost never materialized, though: Moll struggled to find her footing, needing three attempts to clear her first bar at 4.28m (14-0½) and then another three to get over 4.48m (14-8¼). Then, after surpassing 4.58m (15-0¼) on her second attempt and passing twice at 4.63m (15-2¼) and 4.68m (15-4¼), Moll soared over 4.78m (15-8¼) after two misses.
This is the second time this season that Moll has been named M-F Athletic National Athlete of the Week during the outdoor season. Moll previously earned national weekly honors two weeks ago following her previous CR-setting performance at the Desert Heat Classic.
NCAA DIVISION III MEN – Sam Blaskowski, UW-La Crosse
Senior | Sprints | Oshkosh, Wisconsin
Happy Sam Blaskowski Day, to all who celebrate.
This is the third year in a row that Blaskowski has been honored with national weekly honors in some fashion following Last Chance Weekend. Back in 2023, Blaskowski shattered a 40-year-old NCAA DIII record in the 100 meters; last year, he helped UW-La Crosse lower its own NCAA DIII 4×100 relay record by 0.14 seconds to 39.72.
This year? Blaskowski blasted 100 meters in an astonishing 10.05 to shave off 0.03 seconds from his NCAA DIII all-time best and toted the baton second on UWL’s record-breaking 4×100 relay. The Eagles got the stick around in a blistering 39.53 and won by 2.47 seconds.
This is the second time this season – and the seventh time in his career – that Blaskowski has been named M-F Athletic National Athlete of the Week during the outdoor season.
NCAA DIVISION III WOMEN – Charlotte Frere, Augustana (Ill.)
Junior | Throws | Preemption, Illinois
There is throwing and then there is THROWING.
Charlotte Frere did the latter this past weekend at the Midwest Twilight Final Qualifier.
Frere put together a remarkable field series in the discus. The Augustana (Ill.) standout eclipsed 52.00m (170-7) three times in succession, including a 53.10m (174-2) howitzer that made her the third best performer in NCAA DIII history with the best throw since 2002. Frere’s next two discs soared 52.09m (170-10) and 52.37m (171-10) for the No. 9 and No. 7 marks in the NCAA DIII annals, respectively. She now holds four all-time top-10 marks from this season alone.
This is the first time in program history that an athlete from Augustana (Ill.) has been named M-F Athletic National Athlete of the Week during the outdoor season.